Coupled catabolism and anabolism in autocatalytic RNA sets. Issue 18 (3rd July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Arsène, Simon; Ameta, Sandeep; Lehman, Niles; Griffiths, Andrew D; Nghe, Philippe
• Is Part Of: Nucleic acids research. Volume 46:Issue 18(2018)
• Page Start: 9660
• Page End: 9666
• Publication Date: 2018-07-03
• Subjects: Nucleic acids -- Periodicals; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; 572.805
• DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky598
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-1048

Abstract

Abstract: The ability to process molecules available in the environment into useable building blocks characterizes catabolism in contemporary cells and was probably critical for the initiation of life. Here we show that a catabolic process in collectively autocatalytic sets of RNAs allows diversified substrates to be assimilated. We modify fragments of the Azoarcus group I intron and find that the system is able to restore the original native fragments by a multi-step reaction pathway. This allows in turn the formation of catalysts by an anabolic process, eventually leading to the accumulation of ribozymes. These results demonstrate that rudimentary self-reproducing RNA systems based on recombination possess an inherent capacity to assimilate an expanded repertoire of chemical resources and suggest that coupled catabolism and anabolism could have arisen at a very early stage in primordial living systems.